From changes in consumer behavior to evolving social media algorithms, the marketing world is constantly progressing. To be successful, today's marketers need to have an advanced skill set that covers everything from content creation and social media to web behavior and analytics.
What skills do marketers need most to keep up with the industry and do their jobs well?
Check out the infographic below from Formstack to learn seven skills marketers need to succeed and why. Use it as a guideline to assess your own strengths and weaknesses so you can focus on building the skills you need to start or continue a lucrative marketing career.
from HubSpot Marketing Blog http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/top-marketing-skills
Via http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/top-marketing-skills
Having an idea is one thing; executing on it is another entirely.
Ideas come to us in all shapes and sizes, in all levels of importance, and at all different times of day. Sometimes, we get inspired by something we read online and want to capture it and comment on it. Other times, we come up with an idea out of nowhere and want to jot it down, or say it out loud into our phones before we forget it.
When we have these ideas, it's far too easy to forget them or let them slip through the cracks -- especially if we don't have a system for organizing them. Thankfully, there are some amazing tools out there that can help us track and organize ideas in all different situations.
Here are the best tools out there for organizing your ideas -- including note-taking tools, visual organization tools, collaboration tools, and general organization tools.
Price: Free for Basic, $24.99/yr. for Plus, or $49.99/yr. for Premium
Evernote is one of the better-known apps for note-taking and organizing information. I most often use it for organizing research and interview notes, drafting blog posts and ebooks, saving articles to read later, and storing important information -- like my favorite code snippets -- for easy access.
The best part about it is that it syncs across all your devices. So if you think of your next big campaign idea when you're out with friends, all you have to do is whip out your smartphone, open Evernote, and either jot down your idea, record your idea with its audio recording feature, or even take a picture.
It also has a number of free add-on products that make saving stuff to Evernote easier, like their Chrome extension Evernote Web Clipper that lets you save texts, links, and images you see online into your Evernote account with one click.
Similar to Evernote, Microsoft Onenote lets you take notes and share them across all your devices. The kicker is that you need to be a Microsoft user: In order to access OneNote, your device has to have Microsoft Office installed or have access to the OneNote website. Also, unlike Evernote, it doesn't have an audio recording capability.
If that's not a problem for you, OneNote can be a powerful tool. It lets you take and organize notes and import documents and images, including PDFs. Another cool feature? If you send or forward emails to me@onenote.com from your account, they'll go straight into your notebook.
There are a number of apps that connect directly with OneNote, too. One of my favorites is their integration with Feedly, which is a news aggregator app: You can save articles to OneNote directly from Feedly with one click.
Price: Free for Basic, $8.33/user/mo. for Business Class, or $20.83/user/yr. for Enterprise
Trello is a well-known app that's especially good for tracking and visualizing the progress of your ideas. Using their card-based layout, you can create a card for every idea and then jot notes in there, organize these ideas into categories or lists, create task lists and checklists within cards, color-code them, attach files, and so on. To track the progress of that idea, simply drag and drop the card into a new location.
For example, I used to drag and drop blog post ideas among columns, which I named "Idea Backlog," "In Queue," "Research/Interview Stage," "Draft in Progress," "In Editorial," "Scheduled," and "Published." Okay fine, the last one was called "DUNZO." To each her own.
If you're looking for more of a mind mapping tool for brainstorming and planning, MindMeister is a great choice. It has plenty of diagram templates to choose from, along with a built-in icon library to make organizing easier (and more fun). It is entirely web-based, though, so the interface isn't quite as flexible as an app, and you'll need working internet to access your mind maps.
If you want to share your mind maps with others, you can share them publicly and/or collaborate with colleagues on them in real time. In the screenshot below, you'll notice the chat feature open at the bottom.
Price: Free for Basic, $8.33/user/mo. for Business Class, or $20.83/user/yr. for Enterprise
While MindMeister is a great basic mind mapping tool, if you're looking for something more professional, then XMind might be perfect for you. John Halko, mechanical design lead at prototyping company Oat Foundry, uses XMind to “organize everything from business strategies to product needs and specifications.”
It offers cloud storage and automatically syncs across your Macs and PCs instead of existing entirely on the web, like MindMeister does. Plus, their recently redesigned interface is beautiful and intuitive. It has a plethora of predesigned templates and themes to choose from, along with an icon library.
If you're using one of the more advanced versions, you can map out the progress of different tasks using what they call a Gantt Chart -- including start and end dates, assignee, priority, and progress. You can also use their Timeline feature to show events in chronological order to track milestones and schedules of different projects.
Finally, if you're just looking to organize ideas and inspiration, Pinterest is a simple, fun, and social way to do it in a visually pleasing way.
When you're brainstorming ideas for a piece of marketing content or a campaign, you might use Pinterest to save articles, visual content, or other useful pieces of information you find on the internet. That way, when you're writing the post or looking for inspiration, you can go back to your boards. Another way to use Pinterest is to save images and other visual content for social media you can pull from at any point -- like prepping for vacation.
Here's an example of someone who uses Pinterest to collect design ideas and inspiration:
While Google Docs can be a great note-taking tool thanks to its familiar, document-style layout, its best features are the ones related to collaborating with others. It's super easy to share files, and multiple people can edit the same file -- even at the same time and in real time. Watch this video to learn more about how to share using Google Docs:
There are a few, lesser-known features in Google Docs related to collaboration. For example, if you want to ask questions about, make notes in, or highlight changes you've made in a Google Doc you're working on, you can leave comments directly in the document. The comments can act as a conversation thread, as people can reply to them and carry on a conversation.
Price: Free for Individual Account, $29/mo. for Team Account, $79/mo. for Team Account with Clients
There are a lot of collaborative project management tools out there, but Basecamp is one of the best out there for managing projects, groups, and client work. It works really well for communication around teams and projects. Plus, the user interface is simple, intuitive, and easy to navigate.
When you want to discuss projects and share files, you can use either the instant chat feature or forum-style messaging. The calendar function lets you schedule appointments, events, and milestones. The to-do list feature lets you list out shared team tasks -- and, within each task, you can create a series of to-dos and assign them to individual team members, or leave them open for people to assign themselves.
Price: $5/mo./user for Starter, $15/mo./user for Business, Individual Pricing Plans for Enterprise
If you're less interested in detailed collaboration and more into file sharing, Box is a great cloud-based platform where you can store, share, and manage all your company's files. It's private and secure, too, so any confidential business information you want to share can be stored safely. Plus, it's accessible across all your devices, including mobile and tablet.
While its file-sharing features are the most well-known, you can also collaborate with colleagues using the commenting, @mention-ing, and task assignment features. This is a great help in cutting down on email. If you want to stay updated on what's happening with specific content, you can also choose to get notifications every time someone uploads, edits, comments, or downloads something.
Finally, Box integrates with a number of apps you may already use regularly, like HubSpot (learn more here), Google Apps, Okta, Slack, and over 1,400 more. Here's a promotional video right from the source that'll give you some insight into their value proposition:
A lot of ideas, resources, and sources of inspiration are inevitably going to come at you through email -- and it's far too easy for these emails to get lost in your inbox. For many of us, our emails become our to-do lists, in a way. Some of our emails are threads around a pending projects, while others are ideas your boss sends you that you don't want to forget.
So, in addition to another organization tool, it's really helpful to organize your email account in a way that makes it easy to find and sort through those emails. Thanks to Gmail's labeling system and multiple inbox features, there are some great options for organizing your emails.
The Multiple Inboxes feature lets you create new, mini inboxes alongside your primary inbox to organize your inbox into multiple sections based on email type. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
The Special Stars labeling feature, alongside Multiple Inboxes, is my personal favorite: You can set up multiple inboxes to organize emails into categories, like "Needs Action/Reply," "Awaiting Reply," or "Delegated," and then use "special stars" (i.e. one of Gmail's labeling systems) to easily stick different emails into their appropriate inboxes with one click. Click here for step-by-step instructions. (Bonus: Achieving and maintaining inbox zero is also part of this methodology.
(Read this blog post to learn about more tools for organizing your email inbox.)
Price: Free for Basic, $7/yr. for Social, $40/yr. or $5/yr. for Standard, $59/yr. or $6/mo. for Professional
If you want to organize your ideas by highlighting passages on webpages, adding sticky notes, and sharing with friends, then give Diigo a try. It's a social bookmarking website that lets you tag and save online resources like webpages, and then highlight and add notes to the sections on those resources and webpages that inspire you or that you'd like to comment on. For example, if you see a website design you like and want to share it with a colleague along with comments, you can capture the page, mark it up, and share it.
Using the Outliner feature, you can organize your links, references, and notes to create a simple but structured research base. Here's a video from Diigo that shows you how it works:
Nonprofits have two goals: to win supporters to their cause, and to convert those supporters to donors or members to support their work. To achieve both in 2016, marketers will need to become more savvy than ever.
But where should you start? The first step is to take a look at the marketing landscape at large to see where it’s moving—and what obstacles could be a roadblock to your success. Here are a few trends that could make life challenging for nonprofits in 2016, along with some strategies that can ensure you end the year better than you started.
In 2016, Nonprofits Will Square Off Against...
1)The Slow End of Print
Media-watchers have bemoaned the end of print and paper for more than a decade. While the internet hasn’t completely put an end to the old ways, paper-based media and marketing is facing a host of modern issues. Direct mail still makes money, but most donors that respond to these efforts are over 55. There are still plenty of years ahead for this group to donate, but demographic trends clearly suggest that direct mail shouldn’t be your only strategy.
Additionally, print marketing collateral offers far less tracking capabilities than it's digital counterparts. How many people opened and read that mailer you just sent out? You may never know.
So What Do You Do?
The simple answer is move online. M+R’s 2015 Benchmarks found that online revenue was up 13 percent between 2013 and 2014. Much of that growth was driven by online monthly giving, which was up 32 percent (compared to 9 percent for one-time gifts). Demographics are only going to accelerate these trends. Millennials became the largest generation in the workforce this year, and these money-makers are more willing and likely to give via text or online than Gen Xer’s or Baby Boomers.
The even better answer is think comprehensively. You may recruit a potential donor online, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t incorporate them into your direct mail campaigns, and vice versa. The key is to increase the number of touches and give people plenty of opportunities to donate. Then, you want to track how they gave to see how your specific donor base responds to the ask medium.
2) Proliferation of Social Media
The sheer number of apps and platforms out there can be daunting for even the savviest of social media users. Beyond the basics—Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter—you’ve got Tumblr, Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest and more that are vying for ad dollars and marketing efforts from organizations and companies looking to spread their message.
To complicate this, exposure on social media is increasingly becoming a pay-to-play game where reach extends only as far as your ad spend. This means that your investments in 2016 aren’t just in staff or volunteer time, but in cold, hard cash. For nonprofits mindful of their Charity Navigator ratings, high spending on marketing campaigns without much return can be damaging.
There’s also an optics concern. The last thing you want to do is create a presence on a social media platform and let it die. If a potential donor or supporter Googles your nonprofit, only to find a Facebook page where the latest post is from 2012, it doesn’t inspire confidence in the organization. That said, you also don’t want to miss the boat on new technology that can help you reach a new audience or engage your supporters in a new way. Instagram wasn’t even on the radar five years ago, but is now one of the most influential platforms for nonprofits, ranking amongst Facebook and Twitter.
So What Do You Do?
The most important thing is to understand who your audience is, then figure out where they are. For organizations with a younger target audience, Instagram and Pinterest might be worth consideration. Organizations with a more mature audience on the other hand, should look to more established platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Figure out the platforms that are best at reaching your audience, and go from there.
During this planning process, you should also formalize your social media strategy. This doesn’t have to mean hiring a dedicated social media staffer (though if you have the funds, go for it!). Rather, incorporate social media interaction into your existing staff’s duties. That could mean following up every email blast with a tweet, or assigning each staff person a day to post to Facebook or a specific platform to manage by building out a robust social media calendar ahead of time.
The more accountability you create, the better chance you have of keeping your social media current, relevant and enticing to potential donors and supporters.
3) The Move to Mobile
The growth of mobile usage isn’t a new story, but this trend isn’t just here to stay—it’s accelerating. Earlier in 2015, comScore released a report showing mobile usage has increased by an eye-popping 394 percent since 2010. The Pew Research Center found that beyond this increase in mobile usage, smartphones are the main or only point of entry for a significant number of Americans. Ten percent of Americans do not have home broadband, and 15 percent say that they lack options to access the Internet other than through their smartphones.
This has implications for nonprofits both in reaching potential supporters and donors, but also in providing assistance and furthering their mission. A local organization focused on poverty may have a snappy, flash-based website to help low-income families find access to social services, but its target audience may not have a device that can read it. This also presents a tricky problem for nonprofits without the financial cushion to redesign existing resources.
So What Do You Do?
Think mobile first. This doesn’t mean you need to pay a software engineer thousands of dollars to design your organization a custom app, but it does mean taking a hard look at what you already have and seeing where you can make adjustments for a smaller screen. Make sure your website is on a mobile-friendly platform that optimizes the look, feel, and user experience of the site for any mobile device.
If this sounds overwhelming, start where it counts most: your donation or member registration page. Start by shortening your forms so they renders better on small screens, or taking advantage of auto-filling information stored on mobile devices. This can make the donation process easier and smoother for your supporters, allowing them to make the transition to donors or members.
Don’t forget to leverage others’ investments in mobile by promoting more content on Facebook, Twitter or other social media platforms that are already spending the money to make their mobile experience great.
People Aren’t Willing to Part with Their Money
Here are some hard, disheartening facts that every donation-based nonprofit (and for profit) is up against:
Millennials today make $2,000 less (adjusted for inflation) than their parents did at the same age.
Real and perceived economic trends really do affect spending: Millennials have stingy spending habits similar to their depression-era grandparents.
While a majority of millennials do make charitable contributions, they’re total gifts only comprise one-tenth of charitable giving.
People still think we’re in a recession. This varies a lot by geography and political persuasion, but as recently as October 2015—six full years after the Great Recession ended, according to economists—a Fox News poll found that 78 percent of voters don’t buy it.
It’s not just millennials. Gallup found that while baby boomers overall are spending more than they did a year ago, that’s less true for the younger boomers.
So What Do I Do?
Converting donors is less about persuasion and more about relationship building—much like dating. You wouldn’t whip out an engagement ring or ask someone to move in on the first date would you? You’re at the get-to-know-you stage, where you’re both learning about who the other is and whether you want to take further steps.
The same principles apply to the organization/supporter relationship. Rather than asking for money right away, create other methods of engagement or “conversations” that give supporters a chance to get to know your organization and build an emotional attachment to your work and mission. Then, by the time you’re asking for cash, it isn’t such a hard sell.
There are lots of ways to execute this. Supporters can be asked to download pamphlets or issue guides, sign up for newsletters, or share stories and information about your work among their networks. Petition campaigns and other advocacy opportunities are a particularly great way to spread your message and prime potential donors. Signing a petition moves folks from passive to active supporters of your cause, deepening their attachment to it and you. A recent white paper found that fundraising as much as doubled when attached to an advocacy ask.
Bring on 2016
Sure, the coming year is going to be a challenging one. But nonprofit marketers who are prepared for the oncoming hurdles will be able to not just leap them with ease, but continue their sprint toward growing awareness, donations, and members.
from HubSpot Marketing Blog http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/challenges-facing-nonprofit-marketers-in-2016
Via http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/challenges-facing-nonprofit-marketers-in-2016
Although we hear about the health benefits of regular exercise all the time, hectic schedules can make it seem impossible to fit workouts in. The prospect of packing a gym bag, trudging to your local gym, working out, showering, changing, and trudging back to where you came from takes an awful lot of time.
But you aren't doing yourself any favors by disregarding your health. When you neglect exercise, you're putting both your physical and your mental health at risk, which can negatively impact your productivity and effectiveness at work.
One great solution? Work physical activity into your everyday routine. In fact, researchers foundthat people who exercise during the workday are actually more productive at work, even though they technically logged fewer hours.
An office workout can vary widely in type and intensity -- from swapping your desk chair out for a stability ball to going for a run during your lunch break. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
10 Little Ways to Sneak in Exercise at Work
1) Turn your commute into a workout.
The time you spend commuting is already time you're logging each and every day. So why not turn that time into a workout?
There are ways to incorporate exercise into every type and length of commute. If you live fairly closeby, try speed walking, jogging, or cycling to work instead of driving or taking public transportation. Be sure to check for the best and safest routes in your location.
If that distance is too daunting, try parking some distance away from work or getting off the bus or subway a few stops earlier than normal to walk or jog the rest of the way.
Doing exercise during your commute instead of just sitting there will make you feel good while helping you keep fit, even in winter. You just have to dress properly for it.
2) Work out during lunch.
In a recent post on how effective managers organize their time, HubSpot Marketing Director for Asia Pacific and JapanRyan Bonnici let me in on his daily lunchtime routine: Every day, he blocks off 12:00–1:00 P.M. for a run, a swim, or catching up with a friend. Not only does this benefit him physically, but he says it's also necessary for productivity and happiness.
If you can't work out before or after work, lunchtime is your next best bet for fitting in a real workout into your busy schedule. If your office has a gym, you have a lot of workout options. If not, you might opt to go for a half-hour run or a speed walk around your neighborhood or in a nearby mall. It'll take a little planning ahead -- like packing a gym bag -- but it can easily be done. Just don't skip lunch altogether, as your body does need to be refueled.
For one, it helps you practice better posture by forcing proper spine alignment. Why? Because your body is constantly trying to balance itself on the ball, and a seated position with proper spine alignment is the easiest to balance with.
Sitting on a stability ball also strengthens your abdominal muscles because those are the muscles your body uses to compensate for changes in balance. Basically, you're getting a low-intensity abdominal workout every time you sit down -- and those hours add up.
Finally, one study found that children's attention increases when they sit on stability balls. While no studies have been done on how stability balls affect adults' attention, it's possible we'd feel the same effects.
4) Take short "active breaks" during the workday.
On really busy days, you can still work out in short breaks by getting up, stretching your legs, and walking around. It's all about making movement a natural part of your day.
Taking short breaks to be active, even if you're just walking, will help you shed extra calories and help you concentrate during the time when you areworking. Mental concentration is like a muscle, according to John P. Trougakos, an assistant management professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough and the Rotman School of Management. After sustained use, it needs a rest -- just like someone lifting weights at the gym needs rest before doing a second round of repetitions.
When you reach a breaking point, make a point of moving around -- like a 10-minute walk around your building, or up and down the stairs -- instead of sitting at your desk checking email. This can have both long- and short-term positive effects on your mood: One study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports found that people who take walking breaks during work feel more enthusiastic, less tense, and generally more relaxed and able to cope than when they don't take walk breaks.
5) Pace while you're on the phone.
Chances are, you spend most of your day sitting down. Unless you need to be on your computer at the same time, you might as well take advantage of the opportunity to stand up and move around while you're on a call. Every extra step counts, and it'll be a welcome break for your back and your muscles.
Remember: Physical activity doesn't have to be formal exercise to have its benefits: Even simple, unconscious fidgeting is good for your muscles and can burn some calories. Plus, you may find that the movement helps keep you focused and alert.
6) Speed walk your errands.
In the spirit of turning activities you're going to do anyway into little exercise routines, try speed walking your errands. This is an easy way to make movement a natural part of your day, and it means having a lot of errands to run won't cause you to miss a workout.
And, while you're at it, don't use a shopping cart. Human beings are designed to lift and carry things. Remember: Beneficial exercise happens in more places than the gym.
7) Go the long way.
Here's another way to add movement to your day: Take the long way when you have a few moments to spare. This might mean taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking farther away from your office, or going to the bathroom that's across the building instead of right by your desk. After all, studies show that regular, low-intensity exercise such as walking can help boost energy levels -- especially in people who suffer from fatigue, as counterintuitive as that sounds. Plus, think about how all of those extra steps add up after months and even years.
8) Start or join a sports or fitness club at work.
When it comes to workouts, sometimes one really is the loneliest number. But chances are you aren't the only one at your office trying to fit exercise into a busy workday. Why not seek out others who want to work out with you and start some sort of sports or fitness club?
It could be as simple as a push-up club that meets before lunch three days a week, or a running club that does an after-work run. Or, you could take it a step further and rally your coworkers to join a local intramural league. For adult amateur leagues, try typing something like "adult basketball leagues [your city here]" into Google. (Read this blog post for more Google search tips.)
If you're not sure what your coworkers are into, try creating a survey using SurveyMonkey or Google Forms and emailing it to them to gauge interest. Ask them whether they'd join some sort of fitness club, what sports or fitness activities they're interested in, and when they're most likely to be available.
9) Stretch at regular intervals.
The prospect of stretching at your work desk might seem really awkward, but we're not suggesting you do squats at your desk, here. There are plenty of stretches you can do either sitting down or standing up that can help ward off pain and stiffness while boosting your energy and alertness.
Work some stretches in at regular intervals throughout the day -- even if they're just for a minute. The folks at WebMD suggest torso twists, leg extensions, standing up and sitting down several times without using your hands, shrugging your shoulders to release tension in your neck and shoulders, and circling your wrists and hands in air circles.
10) Do (subtle) workouts at your desk.
I know, I know. If you thought stretching at your desk was awkward, what do desk workouts look like? But researchers have found that even one-minute spurts of activity throughout the day can be beneficial. Here are some ideas for subtle workouts at your desk from Fitness Magazine:
Flex or tighten your abs and hold for 30 seconds. Release, and repeat 10 times.
Squeeze your glutes and hold for 30 seconds. Release, and repeat 10 times.
What if I told you that the key to increasing revenue, employee productivity, and lead flow was as simple as sending a tweet?
The modern buyer is changing and starting to rely on social media for input and information on products and services. In order to keep up, sales reps need to adjust accordingly and meet buyers online to build a relationship and convert them into customers.
Bearing buyers’ behavioral changes in mind, social media has become an incredibly powerful tool for sales. For example, did you know 40% of salespeople close two to five deals per year as a result of social selling? Or that companies that invest in social selling have seen their revenue growthdouble?
But the numbers don’t stop there. For more information on social selling and the “why” behind it, check out the following infographic from PostBeyond.com.
from HubSpot Marketing Blog http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/social-selling-increase-revenue-productivity
Via http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/social-selling-increase-revenue-productivity
We all want to be more creative -- to be able to produce insightful, novel ideas whenever we need to.
Yet too often, we sit down with the goal of coming up with an interesting idea only to find ourselves overwhelmed by the activity. Our brains feel as if all the matter has turned to slush. We chastise ourselves for our lack of original thought.
Most people think they know how to "think" -- it seems like it would be a natural skill. But actually, the art of thinking with the goal of coming up with ideas is a specific and trainable skill.
We all have different personalities, different wants and needs, different experiences that shape us, and different ways of dealing with things.
If a coworker interrupts someone in a meeting to share her exciting idea, one person might respond by shrugging it off, while another person might lash out. Still another might stay silent, but let it ruin their whole day.
That's where emotional intelligence becomes so important.
Each emotion a person feels contains valuable information about that person's preferences, needs, and experiences. But all too often, these emotions are hidden or overlooked -- or both.
In a world that frequently favors speaking over listening and thinking about oneself over others, it's really hard to pay attention to our own emotions, let alone the emotions of others. But if you don't, you'll miss out on the valuable information emotions can teach us, and the meaningful relationships you can build as a result.
What is Emotional Intelligence?
Emotional intelligence is a form of social intelligence. Someone who has high emotional intelligence is able to recognize and monitor their own and others' feelings and emotions, to engage with and navigate them, and then to use that emotional information to guide their own thinking and action.
I like to think of emotionally intelligent people kind of like detectives. Every time they interact with someone, they're able to uncover the emotional pieces that are missing from what a person actually says out loud. Then, they're also able to use that emotional information in an effective way, like to become a better manager, a better teammate, or a better friend.
There are many, long-lasting benefits to making efforts to increase your emotional intelligence. For one, studies have shown that emotional intelligence can be more important than raw skill in many cases. Perhaps most importantly, having high emotional intelligence can help you create and maintain more meaningful relationships -- both at work and in your personal life.
The good news is, no matter your personality and emotional tendencies, there are things you can do to increase your emotional intelligence. To help you understand how, check out the tips below.
9 Tips for Becoming More Emotionally Intelligent
1) Observe your own emotional tendencies.
Not only can emotionally intelligent people sense the emotional needs of others, but they also know themselvesvery well because they're able to understand, manage, and effectively express their own feelings. You can only learn to manage your own emotions if you learn to recognize them in the first place.
This is easier said than done, of course. Start by going about your day and paying attention to how you feel, and what specific situations make you feel that way. What's your emotional state when you wake up in the morning? How about when that guy cut you off at an intersection on your way to work? Or when your coworker brought you a coffee -- and even remembered how you like it? How about when your boss rejected your idea in front of your coworkers?
Next, ask yourself how all these feelings connect with your behavior. Throughout the day, did they impact your communication with others, your productivity, or your overall sense of well-being? The better you become at recognizing and understanding your emotions and behavioral impulses, the better you'll be at managing them.
2) Don't judge yourself.
As you become more and more aware of your emotions, you might find you're judging yourself for them -- especially when experiencing a negative emotion, such as anger or sadness. But remember: Every emotion you have, positive and negative, is a useful piece of information that can teach you something about your own needs and preferences.
If you're quick to judge how you're feeling, you'll have a lot of trouble being honest with yourself about how you feel, which is totally counterproductive. Allow yourself to feel those emotions in the first place -- that way, you'll be able to better manage them and recognize them in others.
3) Learn to control your negative emotions.
Managing your emotions effectively is a big part of increasing your emotional intelligence. The hardest part of this tends to be managing your negative emotions. But doing so is important, as it helps you avoid letting negative feelings cloud your judgment. This will make you a better decision-maker because you'll be able to look at a problem and find a resolution in a calm and rational way. It'll also help you become more receptive to feedback and able to use criticism to improve your performance.
The key is to let yourself feel those negative emotions, but practice deciding how to behave once you feel them. For example, let's say you're driving and someone cuts you off at an intersection. Your initial reaction may be surprise, followed by anger. But you have a choice here: You could lay on the horn and yell out the window, "Who do you think you are?," or you could shrug it off -- because, let's be honest, the ten seconds it added to your commute didn't really affect your day.
Remember: How you react to things is your own responsibility. If someone hurts your feelings and you react by yelling at them, then that's your own doing. They didn't "make" you yell at them -- it's you who can choose whether to control your emotions, not them.
The next time you feel a negative emotion strongly, take a few moments to experience that feeling and let it wash over you. Then, take a deep breath and make a conscious decision about how you want to behave in response.
4) Learn to express difficult emotions when necessary (and appropriate).
Part of being emotionally intelligent is knowing when to share your emotions with others. After all, being honest with others about how you feel encourages trust and helps people feel comfortable opening up to you. It's all about choosing your moments; namely, sharing how you're feeling without hurting anyone.
So, when is it appropriate to set our boundaries and let people know where we stand? According to Preston Ni in Psychology Today, these moments "can include exercising our right to disagree (without being disagreeable), saying 'no' without feeling guilty, setting our own priorities, getting what we paid for, and protecting ourselves from duress and harm."
5) Take a genuine interest in what people are saying.
As you consciously observe how you're feeling, begin practicing recognizing and acknowledging how other people are feeling. In other words, practice empathy. Empathizing with others is one of the most powerful parts of being emotionally intelligent, and it'll help you get closer to others, gain their support when you need it, and have an easier time smoothing over conflicts.
The best way to uncover how someone else is feeling is to become an active listener. This means really, truly paying attention to what people are saying. This is really difficult for a lot of people -- especially those who've been taught that listening and deferring to others is a sign of weakness, and that speaking is better than listening.
The first step to take an honest look at your listening skills. Are you a naturally good listener? Or do you tend to spend most of the time someone else is talking thinking about what you're going to say next? A lot of people don't even know they aren't good listeners until they make a conscious effort. Then, make the decision to listen closely and carefully in every conversation.
6) Ask relevant questions.
Sometimes, all you have to do is ask. While you shouldn't jump in with questions every time your conversation partner stops talking, you should ask relevant and clarifying questions to demonstrate you've been paying attention, to show the person you're interested in the conversation, and to dig deeper into what they're telling you.
To dig deeper, you might use a questioning technique called funneling. Funneling means asking a series of questions that become more restrictive at each step. Here's an example:
"Tell me about your last week at work."
"Which projects have you spent the most time on?"
"Did you run into any challenges on those projects?"
"What have you done so far to mitigate that challenge?"
"How can I help you get closer to overcoming it?"
The first questions are open and allow for broad answers, and at each step the questions become narrower and more focused. This is a great technique for gathering a lot of information about a situation so you can put the puzzle pieces together.
7) Pay attention to body language.
Body language is another clue to uncovering how someone is feeling. Everyone communicates in ways that are nonverbal, like posture, facial expressions, and body movements. When you're conversing with someone, take note of how they use their body when they speak -- and treat it like the useful information it is. You might even acknowledge it by saying, "I get the sense that this makes you unhappy. What's causing that?"
You'd also do well to observe how your own emotions manifest themselves in physical ways. For example, that tightening in stomach might be caused by stress or anxiety. Those high energy levels might be an indication that you're really excited about something. (Read this blog post to learn more about master body language.)
8) Take responsibility for your actions.
Humility, like empathy, is a powerful part of being emotionally intelligent -- and one key way to be humble is to take responsibility when you screw up or hurt someone's feelings.
Some people might think acknowledging when you did something wrong is a sign of weakness or lack of self-confidence, especially when you didn't mean to. But taking responsibility for your actions shows people you're self-aware, honest, and committed to being a team player. Plus, people are a lot more willing to forgive and forget if you make an honest go at making things right. In the end, this'll have a positive impact in all areas of your life.
To increase your social intelligence, you'll need to practice becoming more self-aware, transparent, adaptable, socially aware, empathetic ... the list goes on. There are plenty of other ways to improve that aren't on this list, but it's a start -- and something you'll want to continue working on for the rest of your life. The more you practice, the more you'll reap the benefits.
9) Practice open-mindedness.
In general, being narrow-minded is an indication of lower emotional intelligence. Think about it: Open-minded people are more willing to listen to other people's points of view and try to understand them by putting themselves in the other's shoes. As a result, people are more willing to trust them with true thoughts and feelings because they aren't worried about being judged. Open-minded people also have a strong sense of self because they don't confine themselves by their own beliefs.
One way of practicing open-mindedness is to observe how others react to situations and compare it to how you would react in that same situation. If they react differently than you would, think about why this is -- and try to see it from their point of view.
As you become better and better at this, you'll likely find that challenging your beliefs and allowing yourself to explore new ideas will benefit you both professionally and personally.
What tips do you have for becoming more emotionally intelligent? Share with us in the comments.
from HubSpot Marketing Blog http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/emotional-intelligence-tips
Via http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/emotional-intelligence-tips
